


kiss a few frogs to find a prince

by georgiehensley



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Swimming RPF
Genre: Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Gay Male Character, M/M, Male Friendship, Promiscuity, Resolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14498583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: how did it start? ryan really doesn't know. it just sort of… happened.or, the one where ryan manages to sleep with three of the maledancingpros.





	kiss a few frogs to find a prince

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally supposed to be a non-explicit "ryan sleeps with all the male pros on dwts" fic, but with who i wanted to put in the fic and the order, while still keeping it right, regarding the timing of the season, it just didn't work out. also, plot got in the way and this fic started becoming one of my longer ones, as i know write mostly fics under 1,000 words. so, i kept it from getting _too_ long.
> 
> also, i originally started this in late 2016, around the time the season aired, but only got a little bit done before i walked away from it. some old feels, so to speak, for ryan hit me tonight while watching the season premiere of dwts, so i went back to this and finished it. hope you guys enjoy (whoever else is left in this fandom, lol).

how did it start? ryan really doesn't know. it just sort of… happened.

val is the one who finds him after the second week of performances, when the remaining members of the cast decide to go out and celebrate surviving the first elimination.

he’s a bit drunk, ryan should have probably seen that as a red flag.

he didn't.

“we should get out of here,” val murmurs, breath hot against ryan’s ear. normally, ryan would push him away, wince at the smell of alcohol in his breath, but he doesn't. because val is sliding in closer, and  _ oh _ , ryan definitely feels  _ something _ pressing against his backside and… it feels nice. he can see cheryl sending him a warning glance out of the corner of his eye, but he doesn't give it a second thought.

“yeah,” he says instead, to val. “that’d be nice.”

they barely make it to ryan’s hotel room before val pounces, claiming his neck as though it's his own, marking him up as if to show he’s his. 

ryan becomes momentarily distracted by this, fumbling with his key, before luckily getting it in properly and opening the door.

before he knows it, the door is shut again, his back pressed against it. val continues to leave marks on ryan’s neck, which ryan soon grows tired of.

“what, no kissing?” he asks impatiently.

“i’m not gay,” val says simply, picking his head up, the darkened color of eyes saying otherwise. ryan only shrugs.

“what's a little kiss between friends?” he says. val grins like the cheshire cat.

“you said it, not me,” he says, before doing as requested. 

 

when ryan wakes in the morning, his clock already reading that it’s after nine, val’s gone. it doesn’t bother him, though. he’s used to it, from all the other times he’s slept with guys in college and later who were in denial about their attraction to other guys, playing it off like it was just “experimenting”. he does, however, decide to send a quick text to val, checking to make sure that he’s okay after a night of such heavy drinking, which should surely have given him an awful hangover (unless his athleticism somehow makes him immune to hangovers). 

 

he doesn’t actually expect a response to his  _ how are you feeling? _ text, which is why he’s surprised to hear his phone chime just as he slips out of bed to head into the bathroom for a quick shower. he steps back, unlocking his phone and glancing down at the new message.

_ I’m alright. Thanks -V _

a little clipped, but it’ll do.  _ at least he’s speaking to me _ , ryan thinks.

 

ryan has never once pegged artem as the type of guy who would be protective of his masculinity. in reality, none of the guys on this show should be so hyper-masculine as they all probably took ballet classes as kids, but artem in particular seems to be pretty low on the scale regarding how little he cares about it. (and ryan does have a list. it’s all in his head, but he’ll make notes as he watches each of the pros and how they present themselves, especially as he’s been told constantly how masculine he should be acting, but the idiotic douche-bro angle? yeah, that’s a bit much.)

on that night celebrating their survival of the first elimination, ryan swears he caught artem eyeing both him and the other males of the competition often throughout the night. or, if he really  _ wasn’t _ checking them out, then he certainly was just looking at the men more than he was the women (which surprises even ryan, because while he may not be particularly  _ attracted  _ to them, he can’t deny that the women of the show are absolutely  _ gorgeous _ , contestants included). 

it’s weeks later, though, and ryan finds himself sharing a studio with artem, the two placed in the same group for team night, along with their partners and two other couples. it’s not too difficult a dance, much slower than what team future is likely putting together a few doors down, but ryan still feels a little overwhelmed. staying in sync with his partner, that he can do. but being in sync with  _ three _ other guys, all of whom are probably  _ way _ better dancers than he is? yeah, that’s a challenge.

the first night they rehearse, ryan asks artem to hang back, wanting to go over some of the steps again, when the guys are moving in a circle around their partners before crossing through the little square that the girls create. artem is happy to help, offering a slow presentation of the steps for ryan to watch and study before requesting he repeat them back. ryan does so, going through the motions, only he stumbles, his foot catching on dancefloor. he’s able to save himself before he can fall flat on his face, but artem still puts his arms out as though ready to catch him, a realization that has ryan’s already racing heart fluttering a bit.

“here,” artem says, facing ryan rather than the mirror. “just copy me.” and he goes into the steps again, mirrored for ryan’s benefit as the younger man follows, copying them perfectly. artem repeats them, picking up the pace in time to the music, and though ryan stumbles again, this time counting incorrectly in his head, artem is patient, repeating the steps once more, slowly and then in-time to the music, until ryan is able to successfully copy him.

“thanks,” he says, genuinely smiling, grateful to have received the help. his smile quickly falls, though, as he continues, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck, “but, uh, can you go over some of the beginning too?” artem only laughs, a warm sound that sends ryan’s heart fluttering once more.

“sure,” he says. “no problem.”

which is how ryan finds himself a few minutes later with his hands on artem’s waist, lifting him into the air for just a moment while they spin before bringing him back down. the close proximity and the fact that ryan’s in the leading man role has him blushing, especially with artem looking at him as though he’s a proud teacher.

“excellent,” he says after their second run-through, when ryan executes the steps exactly as choreographed. “you really are becoming a dancer.” ryan laughs and shrugs.

“i’m just good at following directions.”

“hmm,” artem hums, and ryan realizes the double meaning to what he just said. his face turns red, but artem only smirks.

 

“good at following directions, hmm?” artem says a little while later as he straddles ryan’s waist, the two having quite literally fallen into the younger man’s bed shortly after slipping into the room. he gives ryan’s wrists a squeeze where he’s currently pinning them to the bed above ryan’s head. “think you can keep these up here after i move my hands away?”

“yeah,” ryan says breathlessly, and artem smiles, rewarding him with a quick kiss before he makes his way further down his body. ryan throws his head back and relishes in the pleasure, his hands twitching but otherwise staying in their place.

 

again, ryan wakes to an empty bed. only this time, he sees artem at rehearsals again twice before the live show, as opposed to him previously not seeing val for almost the rest of the week leading up to the third week of the show. instead of avoiding his gaze like val had, artem sends him warm smiles several times, even sending a wink his way after all four couples run through that first lift and spin. ryan feels himself blush, but if cheryl asks, he’ll blame it on the dancing.

 

next week of the competition, and ryan’s eliminated. he’s disappointed, yes, but after such a nightmarish first week, he’s shocked and grateful he even made it this far.

it’s only natural that he’s a little upset, though. especially considering he was eliminated on halloween night - which fell on  _ actual _ halloween this year, as opposed to just before like in other seasons. 

while cheryl is a great comfort, and she completely understands how he feels as she’s just as disappointed as he is (though, did either of them really expect they’d make it to the quarter-finals?), but ryan thinks he needs more comfort of the male variety at the moment. a part of him almost feels like getting drunk off his ass and sleeping with the first hot guy he sees…

naturally, he does end up at a bar, but it’s only as he starts his second drink that he finds the seat next to him suddenly occupied, turning his head to see none other than derek now sitting next to him.

“how are you feeling?” he asks after ordering a drink for himself.

“disappointed,” ryan answers, lifting his glass and taking a sip, relishing in the now less intense burn as it goes down his throat. “but not surprised. ‘m more surprised we made it  _ this _ far.”

“yeah, this season has not been easy for you, has it?” derek says, shaking his head. the bartender places his drink down on the counter - a beer - and derek’s quick to take a sip.

“no, it hasn’t,” ryan agrees.

“i’m so sorry, man,” derek says, patting ryan on the back. “really. if there weren’t cameras everywhere - from abc and fans - i would have taken all those douchebags out myself.” ryan smiles.

“thanks,” he says. “in another universe, i’m sure you beat all of them to a pulp.” now derek smiles, chuckling softly. he takes another sip of his beer as ryan lifts his glass again.

“also sucks that you’re out on halloween, of all nights,” he comments. ryan nods.

“yeah. guess i got all tricks and no treats.”

“you did beat us in that dance-off, though.”

“i think it was just all the girls who think i’m hot.”

derek laughs. “you sure there were no guys voting for you too?”

ryan freezes as he lifts his glass once more, his hand falling back down against the countertop before he can take another sip.

“i, uh, n-no,” he stammers. “there might have been.”

“if i weren’t sharing that dance floor with you, i’m sure  _ i _ would have voted for you,” derek says. “you really have come a long way, ryan. even if you don’t realize it.” ryan smiles.

“am i better than you now?” he asks. derek laughs.

“no,” he says, having calmed down from his laughter so fast that ryan can’t help but laugh now himself.

“you wanna get out of here?” derek asks a few moments later. “it’s depressing spending your halloween night in a bar.”

“it’s not like we can go trick-or-treating,” ryan points out. “we’re grown men.”

“true,” derek says. “but there are  _ other _ ways we can have some fun tonight.”

 

this time, unlike the previous two times ryan all but fell into bed with a  _ dancing _ pro, well,  _ ryan’s _ the one who has a little more alcohol in his system than he should. but the walk to his hotel room in the chilly autumn air was enough to awaken all his senses again, sobering him up enough that when derek first kissed him just before they reach his room, too impatient to wait till they’re inside with the door shut behind them, ryan simultaneously felt a shiver run down his spine, all the way to his toes, as well as a warmth flooding through his chest. while his kisses with val and artem were rushed and sloppy, all tongue and teeth and over within seconds, derek takes his sweet time, sharing a chaste kiss with ryan before he parts his lips, seeming to silently be asking permission if he  _ can _ push the kiss further with ryan. (ryan gave him permission because of course he would, but he certainly isn’t used to such…  _ gentlemanly  _ behavior.)

and while derek, just like the others, is quick to take the lead once they do find their way into bed, he also doesn’t rush into things there either. he takes his time kissing ryan some more (and admiring the older man’s physique because  _ damn _ , is he bigger than derek) before prepping him properly, making sure to use enough lube and put a condom on as to make the experience the most enjoyable for the  _ both _ of them. and he lets  _ ryan _ come first rather than the other two who, despite artem’s seemingly charming behavior, seemed to care more about getting off themselves, only lazily-but-barely helping ryan get off after they finished. but derek brings ryan over the edge first, joining him soon after before settling on top of him (after sliding out and discarding the condom, of course), his head pillowed atop ryan’s chest.

 

and in the morning, when derek  _ should _ be getting up bright and early for rehearsals with his still-competing partner, ryan wakes to find him still there, cuddled up to him just as he had the night before. despite ryan’s joy to see that derek had stayed the night, he still finds himself nudging him awake, reminding him that it’s tuesday and he needs to head to his own rehearsals. derek adorably mumbles a response, something about quitting the season so he could stay in bed all day with ryan, and while the idea does sound quite nice, ryan doesn’t want to be responsible for a drop-out, so he nudges derek a few more times until he begrudgingly gets out of bed. (and for a moment, ryan can’t help but enjoy the view as derek heads to the bathroom. derek catches him staring when he turns around to shut the door, only smirking while ryan blushes.)

it’s not long later that derek’s dressed and ready to leave, and the realization of the season really being over for ryan finally settles in, creating a feeling of emptiness in his chest. but just before he leaves, derek walks back over to the bed, ducking down to kiss ryan one last time before he goes to rehearsal.

“see you later, babe,” he says, already heading towards the door.

“bye... honey?” ryan says awkwardly, startled by the nickname derek assigned him. the blond opens the front door, turning back to look at ryan, a small smile on his face.

“later?” ryan asks.

“later.” derek agrees, shutting the door behind him.

 

despite derek’s tiredness that night, they do talk about it, though in reality, it’s less talking and more derek asking if ryan would like to go on a date with him, ryan saying yes, and the two finding their way back into bed again. only this time, derek’s far too tired to do anything other than kiss, and ryan is more than happy to oblige.

(and derek  _ definitely _ makes it up to him the following week once he, too, is eliminated from the show. it may be a little more rushed as derek, ever so busy, still has  _ hairspray _ rehearsals, but ryan will take any opportunity he can to spend time with derek. and once  _ hairspray _ ’s behind them, they’ll have nothing but time to spend together.)


End file.
